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L-R: Titi Oshodi, Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Climate Change & Circular Economy (OCCE); Engr. Abimbola Akinajo, Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA); and Kemi Williams, a consultant at LAMATA, during OCCE’s courtesy visit to LAMATA on Climate Change Advocacy and Circular Economy Development in Lagos, recently.
The Lagos Office of Climate Change & Circular Economy (OCCE) and Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) have begun talks on possible areas of collaboration in stemming the rising threat of climate change in the state and harnessing the opportunities for institutionalising circular economy as a way to create jobs and contribute to the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Speaking during a courtesy call on the management of LAMATA, Titi Oshodi, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Climate Change and Circular Economy, said climate change poses a severe threat to the well-being and economy of Lagos State. She noted that the Lagos State Climate Action Plan 2020–2025 showed that more than half of Lagos’s 21 million residents live in informal settlements, which renders them highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Further, she stated that the Lagos State Adaptation and Resilience Plan (LCARP) estimated the effects of climate inaction at $22–29 billion, 11 times the state’s 2022 annual budget.
“These numbers and statistics are worrisome. So that is why we are on this roadshow to engage all stakeholders in reining in this menace of climate change. Energy, waste, and transportation are the highest emitters of greenhouse gases in Lagos. So, it makes sense that stakeholders within the sectors are our first point of contact. We were with LAWMA a few weeks ago, and today we came to LAMATA to also seek possible areas of collaboration. And we are most delighted by the reception and readiness of these stakeholders,” she said.
Oshodi added,
“This is because climate change is not all bad news. It also holds huge economic opportunities for job creation and revenue generation. The Nigerian Green Manufacturing Report 2022 projects that just seven green manufacturing industries could be worth 2.7 billion dollars by 2030. So imagine how much of this Lagos can harness and the impact it will have on not just our environment but the economic prosperity of Lagosians.”
“So, for us at OCCE, our goal is to see how we can work with these key stakeholders to increase the level of advocacy and education and unlock the possibilities within the climate action programmes for the growth of the circular economy in Lagos.”
In her response, Engr. Abimbola Akinajo, Managing Director of LAMATA, informed the OCCE’s delegation of LAMATA’s several activities geared towards sustainability. She said that LAMATA is currently conducting studies on alternative fuel usage in public transportation, promising that LAMATA’s regulatory functions also aim at promoting multifuel rolling stock to mitigate the impact of greenhouse gases on fuel in transport operations.
Akinajo explained that other fuel sources being explored in public transport operations include compressed natural gas (CNG), waste-to-fuel, and biogas, as well as taking necessary measures to be able to quantify emissions, citing the agency’s ongoing support for students at the University of Lagos who are designing homegrown solutions to the various transport problems in Lagos and particularly measurement of emissions.
She expressed delight at the possibility of working with OCCE as the office revs up its advocacy programmes in the state.
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